We also have to consider that the les mis cast had probably a day or two to rehearse and the movie cast haven't really been singing much after they finished the movie also, except for Samantha and Aaron (maybe).
But I listened to the musical medley a couple of times again and it was actually good. It takes time to get used to the new arrangement. It was good idea to include theater actors from west end and broadway. Just wondering, were schonberg, mackintosh and boublil involve in rearranging one day more? Were they in the rehearsals too? I like their stage blocking. Happy that the movie cast & theater company, who are les miz fans themselves, had their moment on stage. You could tell they were all proud and excited performing.
I guess it wasn't only me who noticed something was off with the mics and sound.
Crowe didn't receive applause when he first entered (that I noticed anyway), but after he started singing the crowd clapped and cheered. Or maybe they were just clapping for HBC and SBC's entrance.
As so often happens, best12bars gets to the bottom line in the fewest words. BTW and FWIW, I'm not damning CZJ for lip-synching; it may have been necessary for technical as well as vocal reasons in that barn of a theater. I just don't get the love.
(And Chita Rivera did more dancing while still singing live, so it is humanly possible. I don't know why Jennifer Hudson needs to dance during a song about standing still and "not going".)
It is my understanding that Zeta-Jones began as a dancer. She sings the small "dancer's" role on two STREET SCENE recordings I have; at least one was based on an actual production.
I really loved the Les Miz performance (of course any performance with Aaron Tveit I can't complain)! I do agree that Crowe's vocals aren't up to par (especially compared with some of those incredible Broadway veterans), but overall I loved the ensemble performance. Seeing everybody onstage together (for the last time) was amazing, and I love that the Oscars gave musical theatre a lot of love. I actually just did a video blog about the musical theater moments from last night's show…check it out and let me know if you agree! Lots of Aaron Tveit and Anne Hathaway love :)
I'm glad that I'm not the only person here who thinks that Eddie Redmayne's voice is unlistenable... I would have rather heard Russell Crowe sing for another hour than have been subjected to Eddie's nasal whine (while trying to achieve a vibrato by doing that weird chin wobble) for another minute. I found it that annoying.
I didn't realize that I had seen him before- then looked him up and realized that he was that guy who I hated so much in "RED". If I ever see his name on a marquee again, I'll know to not bother.
Thank goodness for darreyl102. Almost two full pages and no one had even thought of mentioning that amazing performance from the always classy Dame Shirley Bassey.
She wiped the stage with everyone else last night. Just wonderful. She picked up the mic and said "I'll show these snitches how it's done." Then dropped the mic and walked off stage. Brava Dame Bassey, Brava!
I don't get why everyone goes on about how good Tveit is. I mean, sure, next to some of those singers he seems like Dame Joan but in the grand scheme of things, he's no better than a good chorus boy in that role, really.
Thank you. Speaking from a purely technical point, he does this strange tight closing of the throat to produce a fake "legit" sound that reminds me of Benny Hill mocking operetta singers. I'm always rather surprised to hear people ooh and aah about how beautiful they find the sound to be, because it strikes me as unintentionally comical.
"I'm glad that I'm not the only person here who thinks that Eddie Redmayne's voice is unlistenable."
To me it's painful to listen to. Also he is a handsome guy, but BWW referred to him last week in a news article as "heart-throb." I no-longer subscribe to TigerBeat but I can't imagine him appearing in it.
Those film actors were terrible live. And it was quickly falling apart.
I agree with this, the inconsistent mic levels just made it worse. God, I wish they would have picked a better singer for Cosette. A soprano role goes to a barely-is-able-to-sing alto. SMDH.
I think (have to pull out my 1987 Tony Awards tape) that the Les Miz mashup was the exact same version used for the Tony Awards when Les Miz won. Except for Crowe, I thought they did a pretty good job on it.
CZJ was an embarassment (I don't think she even did the intro live). For someone who pretends to be a stage performer, this was bush to the Nth degree (doesn't EVERY performer who plays that role on stage HAVE to sing live). I remember her and Queen Latifah killing the Chicago number on the Oscars when it was nominated 10 years ago. Take a chance, sing it live and go for it.
I thought Jennifer Hudson lost some air on the long held notes, and that song is tired and somewhat intolerable (or maybe I have seen Dreamgirls too many times). Would have LOVED to have her sing I am Changing instead - or even Love You I Do.
And what was up with the balance on Skyfall? You could hear the orchestra but you could hardly hear Adele in some parts of the song.
I'm sure she had her reasons but I actually don't blame CZJ for not singing it all live, after all, for the majority of those that did the other night, their performances have been nothing but pulled apart and criticised across every form of social media. Maybe I've been looking in the wrong places, but besides here, I've seen very few ruffled feathers about CZJ lip-synching.
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joined:12/7/12
Posted: 2/25/13 at 06:15pm